'The pace of change has been surprising', Igor Rozenblit, the agency’s co-head of private-funds compliance inspections and exams, said at a conference in New York. 'I don’t think we’re there yet, but transparency has improved markedly. Some of the more objectionable issues are just ending'.

Bloomberg News reports that the SEC last May shocked the industry by saying it found illegal fees or severe compliance shortfalls in more than half of the firms it examined since starting a review of the $3.8 trillion market in 2012.